Bill Clinton in Talks to Smooth Wife's Path to Cabinet

By

Monica Langley and

John R. Emshwiller

Updated Nov. 19, 2008 12:01 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON -- Former President Bill Clinton has offered to submit future charitable and business activities to strict ethics reviews if his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, were nominated as secretary of state, according to Democrats familiar with the deliberations. He has also agreed for the first time to disclose many of the previous donors to his efforts.

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New York Sen. Hillary Clinton
EPA/Justin Lane

Mrs. Clinton is on a short list of names for secretary of state. A small team of aides to President-elect Barack Obama and the Clintons has been negotiating for the past two days in Washington, say people involved in the talks. The goal is to try to overcome concerns that the former president's global business and philanthropic activities could appear to pose conflicts of interest between the Obama administration's foreign policy and the private financial interests of the family of the country's top diplomat.

Under the emerging agreement, Mr. Clinton would disclose the identities of all new donors to his charitable foundation. He would also make public "major" past contributors -- a term that has yet to be defined. The cloak of secrecy over the former president's foreign financial ties stirred widespread criticism when his wife was running for president.

Mr. Clinton would also seek clearance from two separate entities -- the White House counsel and the State Department's ethics chief -- on all donations to his charitable foundation, the William J. Clinton Foundation, which includes his presidential library and the Clinton Global Initiative. He would follow the same procedure before agreeing to any paid speeches, according to people close to the talks. Additionally, Mr. Clinton would step away from his foundation's daily operations -- all significant concessions for his wife, one person added.

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"Bill Clinton will not be the obstacle to whether Hillary gets this job or not," said one Democrat familiar with the situation. Another person added: "He's willing to be as transparent as the Obama world wants."

Mr. Clinton wouldn't return any money already collected from foreign political and business leaders, even if it has stirred controversy, according to one person close to the talks, largely because those funds have been spent on programs such as campaigns to alleviate AIDS and hunger.

Even with these discussions, it's unclear whether Mrs. Clinton will wind up as Mr. Obama's secretary of state. People involved in the vetting process say others being discussed include Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who both publicly sided with Mr. Obama over Mrs. Clinton during their bitter primary campaign fight.

At the same time, Sen. Clinton's aides say she hasn't decided to take the secretary of state job even if the vetting hurdles were cleared. She is weighing whether she'd rather stay in the Senate to pass the universal health-care program that has been a centerpiece of her public career. After being "excited" about the prospect raised by Mr. Obama, said one adviser, Sen. Clinton is now grappling with the pros and cons in discussions with her husband, daughter Chelsea and close aides. As the adviser said, she would have to be subordinate to other personalities, rather than having her own voice as New York's senator.

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Former U.S. President Bill Clinton addresses an audience in Kuwait this past Sunday. At the economic symposium, hosted by the National Bank of Kuwait, Mr. Clinton spoke of the possibility of his wife, Hillary, becoming the U.S. secretary of state.
Reuters

The negotiations over the secretary of state position come as Mr. Obama's team is rapidly moving on various fronts to put together a cabinet. Eric Holder, a senior Justice Department official under President Clinton, has emerged as the leading candidate for attorney general. The Office of Management and Budget is likely to be headed by Peter Orszag, currently director of the Congressional Budget Office and another veteran of the Clinton administration.

Mr. Obama has been under pressure to name quickly a Treasury secretary to begin to put his stamp on Washington's response to the continuing financial and economic crisis. An announcement is expected before Thanksgiving.

Inside the Obama transition, the intense vetting for the Clintons, dubbed by some as "the project," is being handled by a small circle of close advisers to each side. Representing the Clintons are: Cheryl Mills, a former Clinton administration official and top aide to Sen. Clinton during her presidential bid; Doug Band, counselor to Mr. Clinton; and Bruce Lindsey, chief executive of the William J. Clinton Foundation. Obama transition chief John Podesta, and his deputy, Todd Stern, are spearheading the discussions for Mr. Obama.

In providing information for vetting by the Obama transition, the Clintons are using lawyers to ensure that the exchanges are kept confidential under attorney-client privilege, according to the people familiar with the talks. Mr. Clinton's willingness to disclose future charitable and profitable ventures is consistent with his pledge during his wife's presidential campaign. While he refused to release past donations and payments, these people say, he said he would disclose information going forward if Sen. Clinton became president. His pledge now to reveal some prior donations is a concession to the Obama team.

The intense negotiations between an incoming president and a potential cabinet member have been triggered by Mr. Clinton's activities in his years since leaving the White House. Since 2001, Mr. Clinton has nurtured a broad network of foreign financial and business ties. The Clinton Foundation has attracted several hundred-million dollars in donations from around the world. Mr. Clinton, like some other past presidents, has earned large fees on the speaking circuit.

According to the Clintons' tax returns, which the couple released during Sen. Clinton's campaign, Mr. Clinton received more than $12 million in recent years from a foreign investment partnership where one of his partners was an entity connected to the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. The partnership was part of a broader business relationship Mr. Clinton had through the Yucaipa Cos., a Los Angeles investment operation run by his friend Ron Burkle. Mr. Clinton has largely unwound this relationship.

As part of the campaign by Clinton allies to persuade the Obama team of Mrs. Clinton's acceptability, the Clinton supporters are arguing that former President George H.W. Bush continued to give speeches and get donations for his presidential library while his son has been president. They also note that Sen. Clinton has served on the Foreign Relations Committee without interference or controversy from her husband's activities.

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